IPL Week 1: Vintage Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma Shine; Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi Impress; Chennai Struggles

The 2026 IPL has started off strong as usual, with the bombastic big hitting and ridiculous scoring as always on the table, to create the perfect festival of cricket. But this edition does feel different from its predecessors, signaling the beginning of a new era.

The season kicked off with defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru demolishing the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling by chasing 202 within just 16 overs, courtesy of Virat Kohli scoring 69*, showcasing his consistent form even at the age of 37. 

Kohli wasn’t the only Indian batter to put up a nostalgic batting performance as Rohit Sharma did the same against the Kolkata Knight Riders for the Mumbai Indians with 78 from 38, bringing back the memories of his prime. Sharma and Ryan Rickleton took the Kolkata bowling to the cleaners, completing their most successful chase in the IPL, scoring 224/4 and winning their opening IPL game for the first time since 2013.

MI’s rivals, the Chennai Super Kings on the other hand had quite the underwhelming start, getting thrashed by the Rajasthan Royals. An all-round bowling attack saw CSK restricted to a measly 127, and 15 year old wonderkid Vaibhav Sooryanvanshi unleashed his usual all-out batting approach to help complete the chase for Rajasthan within 13 overs with a 17 ball half-century. 

Punjab Kings shook off their defeat in the 2025 final from the get-go, beating the Gujarat Titans by three wickets at the same venue, the Narendra Modi stadium. Despite the routine target, Prasidh Krishna and the Gujarat bowling took it deep for Punjab, and a heroic 72* off 44 from Australia’s Cooper Connolly became the defining factor to get Punjab over the line.

Delhi Capitals played the Lucknow Super Giants to round off the opening games, with the Capitals coming out on top against the undercooked looking Lucknow. New recruit Lungi Ngidi took 3/29 as the Super Giants were dismissed for just 145-, and 23-year-old Sameer Rizvi stepped up to the chase in his sophomore season with the Capitals, scoring 70* from 47 balls.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad got their first win of the season, overcoming the Kolkata Knight Riders by 65 runs after a trademark guns blazing batting display. Contributions from Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy powered SRH to 226/8, and despite scoring at over 10 runs per over, the Knight Riders were wiped out at 161. Chennai and Punjab also had a batting dominant clash the very next day, with Punjab walking out with the two points, chasing down 210. India U-19 captain Ayush Mhatre got CSK to their 200 plus total with a knock of 73, assisted by Shivam Dube’s 45*, but cameos galore from Punjab’s top order of Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Connolly and captain Shreyas Iyer secured back-to-back wins for the Kings.

Saturday saw the first double-header of the season, with the Mumbai Indians playing the Delhi Capitals and the Rajasthan Royals taking on the Gujarat Titans. The day game between Delhi and Mumbai turned out to be a walk in the park for the Capitals, thanks to Sameer Rizvi once again, who this time scored 90* in the chase of 163, a restricted total from the combined economical efforts of DC’s bowling. 

The later game between Gujarat and Rajasthan was the first real nailbiter of the season, going down to the final over, where Rajasthan came out on top. The Royals scored 210 in the first innings, with India’s occasional man behind the stumps, Dhruv Jurel starring with 75 off 42 deliveries. In the chase, 2025’s top scorer Sai Sudharshan scored 73, which in the 15th over wasn’t seeming enough as Gujarat were still 49 behind with seven down. In came Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada with a lower order charge, but a masterful final over from Tushar Deshpande saw the Titans fall six runs short of the target.

Table after week 1 

Upcoming fixtures

• Sunday, April 5- Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giant, Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, 3:30 PM IST (6:00 AM EST); Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, 7:30 PM IST (10:00 AM EST)
• Monday April 6- Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings, Eden Gardens, 7:30 PM IST (10:00 AM EST)
• Tuesday April 7- Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians, Baraspara Stadium, 7:30 PM IST (10:00 AM EST)
• Wednesday April 8- Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Titans, Arun Jaitley Stadium, 7:30 PM IST (10:00 AM EST)
• Thursday April 9- Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants, Eden Gardens, 7:30 PM IST (10:00 AM EST)
• Friday April 10- Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Baraspara Stadium, 7:30 PM IST (10:00 AM EST)
• Saturday April 11- Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mullanpur Stadium, 3:30 PM IST (6:00 AM EST); 
• Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals, MA Chidambaram Stadium,7:30 PM IST (10:00 AM EST)

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